Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Molly in mid-yawn - she looks like a vampire, or like she's laughing at me.

Have you ever read someone else's blog and wondered why your own blog can't be that funny/entertaining? I've read some wonderfully humorous blogs lately, especially Stark Raving Mad Mommy. She's also the mother of a child with an autism spectrum disorder, and several other children. I find her hysterical because not only is she wonderfully funny as a writer, but I can relate to so much of what she says about life in the "mother of a child with autism" lane, and the whole crazy "mother of a girl" thing. Check her out - it's an experience.

I seem to be more of a random thoughts/ stream of consciousness/ occasional in-depth nerd-alert blogger. I don't seem to have a brand or niche yet. (Do I want one? I'm not sure.) I guess I'm just me, with all the variety that implies.

- I'm the mother of a child with Asperger's Syndrome, a 12 year old who is smart, funny, and totally crazy-making for his social issues and different point of view on almost everything.
- I'm the mother of a son and a daughter, with all the sibling rivalry and gender conflicts that implies.
- I'm the mother of a daughter, and living proof that Bill Cosby's curse WORKS. (May you have children just like yourself. Thanks, Mom.)

- I'm the wife of a wonderful man who also makes me totally crazy at times.
- I'm an avid gardener (THAT covers a multitude of interests and obsessions - only ask if you really want to know).

- I'm an artist and incipient entrepreneur (i.e. I'm totally not profiting financially yet from selling my art, but I can't seem to stop trying).
- I am a NERD, and happy to be so. I read dense history texts for entertainment, always read the footnotes, look through the references, and read every placard on every exhibit in any museum I visit. I love museums!
- I'm an animal lover (3 cats, 3 guinea pigs, a large tank of fish, and wild birds at the feeder). My husband is lucky we don't have more critters. He has more critters than his comfort zone (which might be one cat at a stretch) because of me, and I have fewer than I otherwise might because I love him and don't want him to run screaming for the hills.

My family - when did my babies get so tall?

- I'm a total bookaholic. I've got a perennial pile of things to read on my night stand, right now ranging from Lee Strobel's "The Case For Christ" and Edith Wharton's "The Age Of Innocence" to "From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present" by Jacques Barzun, by way of Alan Dean Foster and Terry Pratchett. I love library book sales, used book stores, and thrift shops where I can get good books cheap.
- At various times in my life I've been a Trekkie, a Star Wars fan, and a Lord Of The Rings lover (long, long before the movies - I don't like the movies that much). I like some sci fi/fantasy, but a lot of it seems repetitive/derivative to me, so I don't buy much any more.

My first abstract ceramic drawing - looks like sea creatures to me.

- The only thing that keeps me from being a certified geek is my almost total lack of any technical/mathematical ability. (Just ask my husband about tutoring me through a math class during my Master's degree.) I like "The Big Bang Theory," and the scary part is that I GET the jokes. (Well, the scarier part is that I "get" Sheldon and company, because I live with two people who are a lot like them in many ways. "Having a Sheldon moment" is now part of our family vocabulary.)
- I enjoy music, especially 70s and 80s rock, but I also love classic jazz (Ella Fitzgerald) and a wide range of other genres. I'm glad our kids like music too, although I think it's funny that our son loves all the stuff I listened to in high school. I don't have to tell him to TURN THAT CRAP DOWN! because it's MY crap he's listening to. I'll be sad when he inevitably picks something I don't like to inflict on me at high volume.

One of my daylily seedlings - a keeper!

So, I guess for the time being I'll be happy with just being me. I can't be someone else, although I can learn from them. Please walk with me while I'm finding my voice.

Just as I am. . . .

I am a Christian mother, teacher, gardener and artist, living in Central New York. I have two kids (both teens, son and daughter - amazing people!).
Gardening is my passion, and influences my art, as well as bringing peace to my life. I used to tell people that gardening was cheaper than therapy. Hah. But it's a lot more fun.